Research Interests

Website Links

Biography

M. Margaret "Peggy" Knudson, MD, FACS attended medical school and completed her general surgical residency at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. After a fellowship in pediatric surgery at Stanford University, she became involved with the development of trauma systems in California, with a special interest in pediatric trauma. After serving as the Associate Trauma Director at Stanford Medical Center, she joined the teaching faculty at the University of California, San Francisco in 1989.

Dr. Knudson has been on the front lines of treating trauma vitctims in major disasters including the 2010 Haitian earthquake and the crash of Asiana Airlines Flight 214 in San Francisco in July 2013. She has also served as visiting surgeon at both Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany and Balad Air Force Hospital in Iraq, treating soldiers injured on the battleflied. In 2012, Dr. Knudson was named to U.S. News "America's Top Doctors," which reflects her inclusion as in the top 1% of physicians in the U.S. for one of her specialties. And in 2014 Dr. Knudson joined the Division of Member Services of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and was named Medical Director for the Military Health System (MHS) Strategic-ACS Partnership.

Dr. Knudson also serves as the Vice Chair of the Committee on Trauma, a member of the Executive Committee, American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma, Board of Managers, American Association for the Surgery of Trauma, on the editorial board of the Journal of Trauma, and as the Chair of the Western Trauma Association's Multi-center Trials Committee. Her major areas of research include simulation training for medical personnel, the prevention of thromboembolic complications in trauma patients, the use of ultrasound in trauma evaluation, resuscitation following hemorrhagic shock, and injury prevention.

Research Overview

Dr. Knudson is involved in a number of projects related to injury and injury prevention:

Resuscitation following Traumatic Brain Injury (Laboratory Study): In a controlled model of traumatic brain injury, the research group is using tissue oxygen probes placed at various locations to better define the brain injury and the effects of ventilation, oxygenation, hemorrhage, and resuscitation on tissue oxygen and capillary metabolism (Lactate/pyruvate/glutamate) following brain injury.

A Comparison of Muscle Lactate Levels with Tissue Oxygen and Metabolism (Laboratory Study): In a small animal model, the research group is comparing serum and tissue lactate levels with other markers (tissue oxygen, bicarbonate, pyruvate) in order to better define the role of lactate as a measure of resuscitation. They are also measuring lactate levels following shock and resuscitation with fluids and various vasoactive agents.

Brain Tissue Oxygen Monitoring and Microdialysis Following Severe Traumatic Brain Injury (Clinical Study): Patients with severe brain injury who require ICP monitors are also being monitored with brain oxygen ad microdialysis probes in order to better define their brain injury and response to interventions.

Muscle Oxygen Monitoring in Critically Ill Patients (Clinical Study): Tissue oxygen levels measured in the muscle of critically ill trauma patients may be used to help guide resuscitation. The research group is comparing two methods of measuring tissue oxygen (direct probes versus near infra-red techniques) and correlating these measurements with microdialysis data as well as standard variable used to measure resuscitation (blood pressure, pulse, serum bicarbonate levels etc).

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Injured Children (Clinical Study): Injured children are particularly vulnerable to the development of PTSD. In a prospective study being conducted at Children's Hospital, Oakland, the research group is following children for up to one year post injury for the development of PTSD and comparing interventions designed to lessen these symptoms.

Use of ultrasound in patients with Solid Organ Injuries managed nonoperatively: (Clinical study) Using ultrasound, The research group is attempting to define the grade of liver/spleen/ or renal injuries resulting from blunt trauma and following these patients with serial ultrasound exams for progression of their injury, need for operative intervention based on the amount of hemorrhage, and the development of complications associated with non-operative management.

Prevention Research and Activities: Through the Injury Center, the research group is involved in a wide range of prevention projects that include pedestrian crashes, violent injuries, pediatric trauma, advocacy, and the development of educational programs in injury prevention for surgeons, medical students, and elementary students.

Posttraumatic Thromboembolism: (Analytical Study): Using the National Trauma Data Base, the research group is developing a report on the current incidence of DVT/PE in the United States following injury, describing risk factors, and analyzing the effectiveness of prevention strategies.

Simulation and Trauma: (Clinical Study): The research group is designing clinical scenarios that can be utilized in simulation in order to prepare senior surgical residents for their rotation on the trauma service. They hopes to validate the use of simulation for this purpose.

Outcome following isolated, mild traumatic brain injury: (Clinical Study) As part of a multi-institutional study, the research group is prospectively following patients with isolated brain injuries for their functional outcomes for a period of one year, and comparing outcomes in elderly versus younger patients.

Please note: UCSF Profiles publications are automatically derived from MEDLINE/PubMed and other sources, which might result in incorrect or missing publications. Researchers can login to make corrections and additions, or contact CTSI for help.

In the News

The American College of Surgeons recently announced that M. Margaret Knudson, MD, FACS, Professor of Surgery and trauma surgeon at the San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, has joined the Division of Member Services of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) as Medical Director for the Military Health System (MHS) Strategic-ACS Partnership. The partnership was officially launched with the signing of a charter during Clinical Congress 2014. Dr. Knudson will oversee the partnership and [...]

KRON4 in San Francisco reports on an innnovative game, developed by UCSF trauma surgeon, M. Margaret "Peggy" Knudson, MD, that teaches traffic safety to children. SFGate, the sister-site of the San Francisco Chronicle, discusses the game in depth:
A group of third-graders waved their hands and screamed - "Stop!" - as a car slowly backed toward them from a garage.The children weren't in danger of becoming San Francisco's latest pedestrian casualties, though. They were one of many groups of [...]

UCSF News reports on the efforts of the trauma team at San Francisco General Hospital that treated victims of Asiana Airlines Flight 214 that crashed while landing in San Francisco in July 2013. The team included UCSF Department of Surgery trauma surgeons M. Margaret Knudson, M.D. and Andre Campbell, M.D., and Rachael A. Callcut, M.D., M.S.P.H.. They arrived at SFGH within hours of the disaster:
On the morning of July 6, M. Margaret Knudson, MD, chief of surgery at SFGH, worked with Campbell [...]

In its survey for 2012, U.S. News in collaboration with Castle Connolly Medical Ltd. listed twenty-five (25) surgeons in the UCSF Department of Surgery, nearly one-third (1/3) of the clinical faculty, on the list of U.S. News "Top Doctors". The list, compiled from the opinion of colleagues, denotes the top 10% of physicians within a region practicing a given specialty.
Fifteen of the 25 department surgeons were also named by their peers to the list of America's Top Doctors (ATD), a [...]

M. Margaret Knudson, MD, FACS (center) was awarded the 2010 National Safety Council Surgeon's Award for Service to Safety at the Trauma Reception at the AAST Annual Meeting in Boston, MA. for her visionary leadership in injury prevention and control, and lifelong commitment to the care of injured patients that has saved countless lives."
The award was presented by L.D. Britt, MD, FACS, ACS President and President of the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (left) and Michael F. [...]

San Francisco Injury Center for Research & Prevention at SFGH - June 15, 2009

UCSF News reports on the SGFH-based San Francisco Injury Center Research and Prevention and its innovative research to to treat, understand and prevent traumatic injuries:
For the past 20 years, the San Francisco Injury Center for Research and Prevention (SFIC) has been working to treat, understand and prevent traumatic injuries and to establish practices that serve as national and international models.
Whether an injury is caused by a fall, a firearm or a motor vehicle crash, the [...]